McBAINE — Five years ago, when the father-son duo of Bill and Kyle Spradley teamed up to give the state champion bur oak at McBaine some much-needed attention, they were joined by a handful of people.

Yesterday, more than 40 people gave the majestic tree a hefty dose of TLC. The gathering included representatives of 10 organizations and businesses from across the state — most of them arborists or rural electric linemen experienced in tree-trimming and pruning.

That goes to show how much people care about this tree,” said Kyle Spradley, a senior information specialist at the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. Spradley also has his own photography business, and many of his photos feature the McBaine bur oak.

I’ve written about the tree previously, for the very good reason that it is the image used on the cover of Communion of Dreams (and so, at the top of this blog). And I’m glad to see this sort of effort to help care for the tree, and preserve it for future generations. Seriously, if you haven’t ever seen it in person, and you find yourself in the area, it is worth a visit.

As he came into the open from the narrow spiraling stairs, he saw a man standing on the upper viewing platform, calmly looking out over the city as he leaned on the ramparts. He was tall, even though he had a slight stoop which Darnell sensed came from extreme age. And while he wore a large, wide-brimmed hat, it was clear that he still had a full head of hair, mostly of the sort of silver color which suggested it had once been deep black. His full yet neat beard was completely white. He wore no glasses, and noticed as Darnell emerged from the darkness of the tower.

Darnell nodded to the man. “Hello.”

“Good afternoon,” said the man in reply. His voice was rich, still solid. There was a touch of an accent that seemed familiar to Darnell, though it was neither American nor Welsh. He turned his attention back to the city below them, but spoke again. “You’ve come a long way.”

And with those words, Darnell was better able to define the accent. Mediterranean. Possibly Greek. “So have you.”

“True enough.” He looked at Darnell, smiled just a bit. His eyes were dark, a little sad. He glanced east to the castle proper, then north, where the mass of the Great Orme disappeared in low-hanging clouds. Then back at Darnell, seeming to size him up. “I suspect that both of us have a ways yet to go.”

“If we’re lucky.”

“Perhaps.” He stepped past Darnell, and disappeared down the stairs without another word.

Also, now that it has been a bit, how are you doing without Alwyn there? I’m sure that you miss him terribly!!

* * * * * * *

Typical for this time of year, weather forecasts are now starting to include the possibility of frost. I decided that this afternoon I’d go out and harvest the rest of my Habanero crop in advance of some rain we’ll probably get tonight. This is what I brought in:

And more importantly, this may also be part of the explanation for Alzheimer’s and other age-related dementia. From the NPR article linked above:

The brain-cleaning process has been observed in rats and baboons, but not yet in humans, Nedergaard says. Even so, it could offer a new way of understanding human brain diseases including Alzheimer’s. That’s because one of the waste products removed from the brain during sleep is beta amyloid, the substance that forms sticky plaques associated with the disease.

That’s probably not a coincidence, Nedergaard says. “Isn’t it interesting that Alzheimer’s and all other diseases associated with dementia, they are linked to sleep disorders,” she says.

Researchers who study Alzheimer’s say Nedergaard’s research could help explain a number of recent findings related to sleep. One of these involves how sleep affects levels of beta amyloid, says , a professor of neurology Washington University in St. Louis who wasn’t involved in the study.

But dominating this jaw-dropping scene are Saturn’s magnificent rings, seen here far more circular than usual. Cassini’s mission has been to observe Saturn and its moons, which means it tends to stay near the planet’s equator. But now scientists are playing with the orbit more, to do more interesting science. The spacecraft is swinging well out of the equatorial plane, so here we see the rings at a much steeper angle, and they are less affected by perspective.